Panic! at the Disco has the greatest album of all time. That’s right, I said it, Sgt. Pepper be damned.
Now, I know there are a lot of great bands out there, and a lot of them are far superior to Panic! at the Disco. What those bands do not have is the single greatest album of all time. I would argue that the first album by Panic, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” is the single best album ever created. It has everything you could possibly want and still somehow functions as one cohesive album.
For one, the album has a song titled “Introduction” and another titled “Intermission.” They are the only titles of the album that say exactly what they are meant to do. The album literally has an introduction to get you stoked to listen to some of the greatest music ever produced, and it has an intermission to give the listener a chance to grab snacks, make a phone call, or just a pause to allow their brain to relax after being stirred up by sounds.
Jack Johnson would never even think of doing something like this. Also, that intermission does not even fit the genre of the rest of album. It starts off with some crazy electronic music, moves into a beautiful piano solo, and then falls right back into the rock. Amazing.
The album’s lyrics are some of the most interesting and surreal I have ever heard. While listening to the album, you will constantly feel as if you are moving in a trapped cycle of rock music that constantly changes and blows your mind. Even the song titles themselves are absolutely insane. They have nothing to do with what the song is about, and it makes it difficult to ever pick the song you actually want to listen to. Fall Out Boy would lose it if their producer even thought of pushing this on them.
I know it might sound unenticing to listen to an album with somewhat nonsense lyrics and song titles, but you first have to understand where the band is from. They are actually from Las Vegas, and no, I swear, I have absolutely no bias. This makes sense why their lyrics are so ridiculous, because frankly, Las Vegas is ridiculous. It only makes sense that all their songs have a feeling of excitement, trapped, cyclical, and sexual undertones. It also makes sense why it is the perfect album to listen to no matter what is going on, because no one knows what is going on when they are in Las Vegas. It just all makes sense.
So next time you and your friends, or when you’re alone (I don’t know your life), are looking for that perfect album to rock out to, think about throwing on the first album by Panic! at the Disco.